City · Anoka County, Minnesota

Nowthen, Minnesota

Nowthen is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area. It has 4,538 residents. Nowthen, Minnesota has a quality-of-life score of 89 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,737 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Minnesota it ranks #134 of 364 cities and towns. It ranks best on child poverty rate (low), math scores (high) and income inequality (Gini index) (low). It ranks worst on restaurants and bars (low), grocery stores (low) and child care cost burden (high).

89Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,737 of 15,651 cities and towns
Minnesota: #134 of 364 in MN
Population: 4,538 (2020-2024)
Land area: 34 mi²
Density: 134.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 2747536

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety81#2,932/15,637
Economy92#1,284/15,631
Housing66#5,162/14,977
Health77#3,661/15,609
Healthcare65#5,447/15,650
Environment70#4,655/15,453
Education91#1,407/15,649
Infrastructure79#3,227/15,650
Community87#2,045/15,651
Leisure & amenities22#12,180/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Nowthen, Minnesota ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Anoka County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Child poverty rate · low2.0%
97/100Minnesota 9.6%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Math scores · high3.45
94/100Minnesota 3.30United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAnoka County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.345
94/100Minnesota 0.452United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Median household income · high$160,417
93/100Minnesota $87,120United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
High school diploma or higher · high94.6%
93/100Minnesota 93.9%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Voter turnout · high77.7%
93/100Minnesota 77.0%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionAnoka County value

Weaknesses

Restaurants and bars · low4.9 /10k
10/100Minnesota 8.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAnoka County value
Grocery stores · low0.9 /10k
10/100Minnesota 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAnoka County value
Child care cost burden · high38.7%
12/100Minnesota 29.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAnoka County value
Social associations · low6.2 /10k
13/100Minnesota 12.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAnoka County value
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
14/100Minnesota 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesAnoka County value
Comfortable days · low23.6%
15/100Minnesota 23.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationAnoka County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
42.1% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−42 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
84.0% (2015-2019) → 94.6% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$107,688 (2015-2019) → $160,417 (2020-2024)
+49%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
29.4% (2015-2019) → 37.9% (2020-2024)
+8.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
New homes permittedWorsening
2.2 /1k (2021) → 1.3 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−40%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
7.0% (2015-2019) → 2.0% (2020-2024)
−5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Nowthen, Minnesota improved on 3 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Household income+49%$107,688 → $160,417
Uninsured−3.5 points7.1% → 3.6%
Broadband+11 points84.0% → 94.6%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Nowthen, Minnesota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	35.8 min2015-2019	27.3 min2020-2024	−8.5 min	Within the margin of error	97%
Bachelor's degree or higher	29.4%2015-2019	37.9%2020-2024	+8.5 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Broadband subscriptions	84.0%2015-2019	94.6%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	62%
Effective property tax rate	0.95%2015-2019	0.74%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	59%
High school diploma or higher	96.2%2015-2019	94.6%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Home price to income ratio	3.1×2015-2019	2.9×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	86%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3312015-2019	0.3452020-2024	+0.014	Within the margin of error	38%
Median household income	$107,6882015-2019	$160,4172020-2024	+49%	Improved	84%
Poverty rate	6.4%2015-2019	4.1%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.1%2015-2019	3.6%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Improved	79%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Nowthen, Minnesota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Nowthen, Minnesota in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Nowthen, Minnesota itself moved +7.6 points in standing on average over the same 8 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

4,538 residents (±16)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,424 households (±133)

Nowthen, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k7.0%†99
$25k–50k6.7%†95
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,424 households (±133)

Nowthen, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own97%1,385
Rent2.7%†39

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+7.9 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

2,267 workers (±223)

Nowthen, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone58%1,306
Carpool3.2%†72
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Anoka County, the county holding most of Nowthen's residents.

Anoka County has 8,438 employer establishments, 226 for every 10,000 residents (0.91× the US rate of 248; 0.84× Minnesota's), with 123,486 paid employees at an average annual pay of $59,745. The Census Bureau also counts 28,915 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 8,438; 28,915 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 226; US 248 · Minnesota 268
Paid employees: 123,486
Average annual pay: $59,745; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Anoka County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	980	26.3	1.70×More than typical	7,834	$85,680	2,120
Ambulatory health care services	555	14.9	0.71×Fewer than typical	7,634	$71,391	1,052
Restaurants and other eating places	459	12.3	0.67×Fewer than typical	11,179	$21,722	98
Lessors of real estate	436	11.7	0.95×About typical	1,433	$41,236	2,326
Construction of buildings	371	9.9	1.31×More than typical	1,604	$79,819	912
Building finishing contractors	310	8.3	2.19×More than typical	1,636	$69,976	841
Services to buildings and dwellings	294	7.9	1.17×About typical	2,869	$47,087	1,301
Building equipment contractors	269	7.2	1.20×About typical	3,362	$92,773	270
Automotive repair and maintenance	250	6.7	1.33×More than typical	1,616	$54,189	328
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	249	6.7	2.12×More than typical	1,909	$83,042	449
Limited-service restaurants	240	6.4	0.80×About typical	5,513	$19,652	57
Real estate agents and brokers	237	6.4	1.30×More than typical	261	$54,935	772

Rank places for an industry Open Anoka County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 373,182 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $17.3M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Nowthen, Minnesota: $3,803 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $17.3M; −28% vs FY2025
Per resident: $3,803; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 13%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center$5.9M34%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$3M17%
Federal Bureau of Investigation$2M12%
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement$1.5M8.6%
Transportation Security Administration$1.2M6.7%
Drug Enforcement Administration$1M6.0%
Department of Veterans Affairs$711K4.1%
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Acquisition and Property Management Division$392.5K2.3%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

5.3MFY2017
6.5MFY2018
6MFY2019
12.8MFY2020
14.4MFY2021
17.6MFY2022
21.2MFY2023
22.1M

Top industries (NAICS)

Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$16.6M96%
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities) · 6231$671.1K3.9%
Drugs and druggists' sundries merchant wholesalers · 4242$14.8K0.1%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$3,2300.0%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$1,6160.0%
Other textile product mills · 3149$96.12

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Nowthen, Minnesota, so they do not add up across cities.

Nowthen, Minnesota's figures are part of those of Anoka County, MN ($257.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 6.7% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Nowthen is mostly in Anoka County.

See federal money in Anoka County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Nowthen, Minnesota is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Amy KlobucharD-

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Anoka County89100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI93

Other cities and towns in Anoka County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2747536

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends